Stomach Content Analysis of the Invasive Mayan Cichlid (Cichlasoma urophthalmus) in the Tampa Bay Watershed

Date

2020-04-08

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

Honors Program, The University of Tampa

Abstract

Throughout their native range in Mexico, Mayan Cichlids (Cichlasoma urophthalmus) have been documented to have a generalist diet consisting of fishes, invertebrates, and mainly plant material. In the Everglades ecosystem, invasive populations of Mayan Cichlids displayed an omnivorous diet dominated by fish and snails. Little is known about the ecology of invasive Mayan Cichlids in the fresh and brackish water habitats in the Tampa Bay watershed. During the summer and fall of 2018 and summer of 2019, adult and juvenile Mayan Cichlids were collected via hook-and-line with artificial lures or with cast nets in seven sites across the Tampa Bay watershed. Fish were fixed in 10% formalin, dissected, and stomach contents were sorted and preserved in 70% ethanol. After sorting, stomach contents were identified to the lowest taxonomic level possible and an Index of Relative Importance (IRI) was calculated for each taxon. The highest IRI values calculated for stomach contents of Mayan Cichlids collected in the Tampa Bay watershed were associated with gastropod mollusks in adults and ctenoid scales in juveniles. The data suggest that Mayan Cichlids in Tampa Bay were generalist carnivores.

Description

Recommended Citation: Tharp, Ryan M. “Stomach Content Analysis of the Invasive Mayan Cichlid (Cichlasoma Urophthalmus) in the Tampa Bay Watershed.” Honors Program, The University of Tampa, 2020. https://doi.org/10.48497/938R-DY57.

Keywords

Mayan Cichlid, Diet, Invasive fishes, Tampa Bay, Freshwater, Ecology, Conservation, Ichthyology, Research Subject Categories::NATURAL SCIENCES::Biology::Terrestrial, freshwater and marine ecology::Freshwater ecology

Citation

Tharp, Ryan M. “Stomach Content Analysis of the Invasive Mayan Cichlid (Cichlasoma Urophthalmus) in the Tampa Bay Watershed.” Honors Program, The University of Tampa, 2020. https://doi.org/10.48497/938R-DY57.